


Right Dress, Wrong Girl

by DesertVixen



Category: Hardy Boys - Franklin W. Dixon, Nancy Drew - Carolyn Keene
Genre: Alternate Universe - Romance Novel, Beginning Attraction, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-24 13:04:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12013332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen/pseuds/DesertVixen
Summary: A romance novel AU based on Paula Marshall'sThe Wolfe's Mate: (Original Blurb) MISTAKEN IDENTITY - Unbeknownst to Miss Susanna Beverly, her stepfather had cheated her out of her rightful inheritance.  Thus she was forced to become the companion of Miss Amelia Western, who was betrothed to Viscount Darlington.  Who would have guessed she'd be mistaken for Amelia and kidnapped by Mr. Ben Wolfe's henchmen?  Ben's intentions were honorable.  He did at least intend tomarryAmelia.  But his real aim was revenge upon Darlington's family.  Kidnapping the wrong woman upset all his plans, but as Ben got to know the forthright Susanna, he couldn'treallyadmit to being sorry...Written for unconventional courtship 2017





	Right Dress, Wrong Girl

“I told you it was a stupid idea,” his brother grumbled. “Now we have the wrong girl.”

Frank Hardy was incensed. All his planning, all the time, all the work for nothing. They had been so close, and now… It looked as if Charles Cameron, the crooked businessman that Fenton Hardy had been investigating when he had died in a convenient car accident, was going to slip through his fingers.

Again.

The idea of taking revenge on Charles Cameron had come to him a few years before, when he had been mired in grief over his father’s death. He and Joe had abandoned any hope of solving the case – Charles Cameron had covered his tracks thoroughly – but they could make him pay for what he had done.

They had made small inroads, caused Cameron some unpleasant moments, but it wasn’t enough for Frank. He wanted Cameron to know that Fenton Hardy had been avenged, wanted to look the man in the face when his revenge was complete. They had made the very interesting discovery that Charles Cameron’s pockets were not as full as they had once been. Cameron losing his money was not enough for Frank, however. Instead, he had to be humiliated, exposed, impoverished. 

The idea of using Cameron’s son Don – a young man who seemed as slippery as his father – against him had come to him a year ago, but he had lacked a starting point. 

Until he had seen the published notice of Don Cameron’s engagement to a Miss Isabel Topham. Richard Topham was not in business with Charles Cameron, but from what Frank and Joe had uncovered, he was none too savory himself, having taken advantage of an older relative to absorb his sizable fortune through a possibly forged will.

It had been the perfect opportunity. Frank had worked on the plan with his usual thoroughness. The whole matter had to be careful and precise, cool and calculated. Everything had been coming together so nicely. Isabel Topham had been poised to fall right into their hands. She might not be pleased with the situation, but then Frank wasn’t concerned with Isabel’s pleasure. They would be married, depriving Charles Cameron of the opportunity to use Isabel’s marriage settlement to cover his own losses. Frank would treat Isabel as a wife should be treated, but she was merely a piece in his puzzle.

Joe had argued in favor of grabbing the Topham girl at a party – the pair went to enough parties – but Frank had vetoed that. There was too much chance of running into someone who was sneaking off to an assignation, or some other mishap. Much quicker to grab her on the street, he had decided, and Joe had finally agreed. Neither of them could be in on the abduction, in case it went badly, but they had employed a pair of trusted operatives.

“I still don’t understand how we could have the wrong girl,” Frank said. “Chet said he had identified her, that he knew who Isabel Topham was without a shadow of a doubt.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” Joe pointed out. “Get Chet back over here. In the meantime, we should speak to her and decide what we are going to do.”

*** ****

She had not enjoyed the job anyway, Nancy Drew told herself as she studied her reflection in the mirror. Being kidnapped was sort of thrilling – more thrilling than going and applying for another job, more thrilling than trying to keep Isabel Topham happy. She had even had a new-to-her dress – a castoff of Isabel’s, but nicer than the rest of her current wardrobe. The pale blue fabric was sadly soiled. Nancy sighed, thinking of the time she had put in to repair it after Isabel had ripped it and discarded it. At least she had been able to tidy herself up.

Now, finally, she would be brought face to face with whoever was behind this. She tried to focus on that, to distract herself from the fear that by the time she could extricate herself from this situation, she would have been missed. She would likely be dismissed – although that would have been coming soon anyway, with Isabel preparing to marry Don Cameron. 

At the knock on her door, Nancy squared her shoulders. She would simply have to keep her wits about her.

It was not either of the two men who had dragged her into their car, but a handsome young blond man who seemed much more cheerful than she felt. 

“Please come with me, miss,” he said as he held the door and gave her a slight bow. “We would like to offer you some refreshment and try to figure out what to do next.”

Nancy raised her eyebrow at the “we”, and he had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. 

“I do apologize, Miss…” He let his voice trail off, waiting to see if she would supply a name.

Nancy had to bite her lip to hide a smile. She just might enjoy this. “So you don’t believe it is Miss Topham anymore?”

He said nothing, merely offered her his arm.

She took it, and wondered what might happen next.

*** ***

When they entered the well-appointed room, Nancy’s attention was caught by the fact that one of the men who had been in the car was there, speaking to another man. A tall handsome man, with intense dark eyes and dark hair, one who made her feel strange for just a moment. As if she knew him, or should know him. There was an air of danger around him, as if he would do whatever was necessary

“That’s Miss Topham,” said the abductor, a rather stocky man who did not seem all that bright. 

“I am not Miss Topham,” she said tartly.

“The saleswoman said she sold that dress to Miss Topham,” he protested. “It was supposed to be a one of a kind model.”

Nancy let a giggle escape. The situation was hardly funny – she was going to lose her position, she had no one to turn to, the Tophams would likely throw her few belongings in the street – but she had to laugh.

“Miss Topham did buy the dress,” she explained, feeling rather giddy. “She also ripped it and threw it away. I was able to repair it.”

“May I ask what your name is?” It was the handsome man, and his deep voice made her feel warm inside.

“My name is Nancy Drew,” she said quietly. “I can’t imagine why you wanted Isabel Topham, but I am definitely not Isabel.”

“Let’s just say I needed her,” he said after a moment. 

“Not Carson Drew’s daughter,” said the blond man suddenly.

Nancy nodded slowly, trying not to think of her father, trying not to wonder for the thousandth time why he had never told her that there was no money. “I am his daughter, yes.”

“Then why are you working for the Tophams? Certainly you don’t need the money.” 

“Perhaps before you start interrogating me, I might learn your names?” Her voice was sharp with fear and confusion.

The blond man gave her a grin. “My name is Joe Hardy. This is my brother, Frank,” he said, gesturing to the other handsome man. “And this is apparently our household idiot, Chet.”

Frank frowned, as he studied her. She was pretty, he thought, and would be prettier if she did not look so worried, with reddish blonde hair pinned up in a neat chignon, and enchanting blue eyes. “May I ask again, why are you working for the Tophams?”

Nancy looked down. “I haven’t much choice. My father left me very little.” Nothing, in fact.

The two brothers exchanged glances over her bent head. Joe recognized that look in Frank’s eyes, the look that said he was going to dig into this one.

“Shall I wire Aunt Gertrude?” Joe said.

Frank nodded. “Yes.”

“Aunt Gertrude?” Nancy said, confused, as Joe left the room.

Frank took her hand in his, noticing the calluses that had formed from doing work that Carson Drew’s daughter should not have needed to be doing. “I’m afraid we have caused you a lot of trouble, but I promise we will make this right.” He raised her hand to his lips, intending merely a polite kiss. He was unprepared for the jolt that shot through him as his lips touched her skin, unprepared for the protectiveness that swept over him, the need to make things right for her.

“I’m hardly in a position to say no,” Nancy said softly as he released her hand. She almost wished he would have held it for longer, or kissed it again, so she could see if she had imagined that jolt, that connection, the feeling that the two of them were somehow tied together. “Aunt Gertrude?” 

“We need an older lady to guard your reputation, and I can think of no one more eminently suited for that job than Aunt Gertrude.”

She nodded, touched by his concern for her welfare, still remembering how his lips had felt on her skin.

She had the feeling that things were going to be very different for her, thanks to the events of today.

All the same, Nancy hoped that Aunt Gertude might not be the most diligent chaperone. She definitely wanted to spend more time with Frank Hardy, and not just to find out what was going on with the Tophams.

**Author's Note:**

> This is set during the "yellow spine' era.


End file.
